LCC Library displayed A Short Exhibition About Music Zines in the Lower Gallery at LCC, presenting a brief history and overview of the movement in the UK.

Music zines feature heavily in the LCC library Zine Collection. From the original punk fanzines of the 1970s, through to the indie and alternative zines of the subsequent five decades, zines continue to be vital in providing bands and fans a means to share their music and express their ideas and opinions. The exhibition showcased large-scale prints and original zines from various decades and genres, from Mark Perry’s Sniffin’ Glue through to examples which show how the DIY ethos and aesthetic of punk subculture continues to influence and empower today.

The exhibition also provided a case study through Nick Mann’s influential punk, metal and hardcore music zine A Short Fanzine About Rocking (ASFAR), which ran from 2001 to 2014. Nick tragically died in an accident in March 2015. His widow Jen Kavanagh donated a full run of ASFAR to the LCC library’s zine collection in his memory. ASFAR had a huge impact on the underground music scene in the UK and beyond, and on its long-term contributors.

Ruth Collingwood and Monica-carmela Sajeva (LCC Special Collections librarians) co-curated the exhibition with Jen, the exhibits shown providing examples of Nick’s work and writing and demonstrating the passion and process behind creating a music zine. The exhibition also featured a projection of ASFAR spreads selected by Jen and a playlist (available on mixcloud).

The exhibition ran from 10 July to 21 July 2017 and was visited by UAL students and staff, external researchers, punk scholars, the zine community, and the public. Several parallel events were also featured during the exhibition including: Zine Readings in the gallery space and a Sounds and Scissors Zine workshop.

It was featured as an exhibition of the week in Time Out London and we received some great feedback and comments in the visitors’ book. The exhibition also allowed us to create further links with the zine community, and led to donations of Open Up and Bleed fanzine and zines and artists books from Mexico.